Matthew Modine could be set for a villainous role in The Dark Knight Rises.

The award-winning US actor will reportedly play a character mysteriously known as Nixon in the third instalment of Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise.

"He's a politician and a key villain," a source told Showbiz 411, adding that his scenes would be shot in a studio in London.

Matthew - who has starred in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday and Married To The Mob - is the latest cast addition to the film, which has begun shooting and is set for a 2012 release.

Christian Bale is reprising his role as the titular character alongside Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.